Potential breeding grounds for Chikungunya virus exist in HK: academic
發佈日期: 2025-11-04 12:20
TVB News
The newly reported third local case of chikungunya this year involves a 45-year-old male patient residing in Tsing Yi and working in Sheung Wan.
A medical academic point out that his wider range of activities makes tracing the source of infection more difficult, and also proves that there are potential breeding grounds for the virus in Hong Kong.
Professor Jasper Chan Fuk-woo from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong said in a radio programme:
"The chance is relatively small that the imported case in August was directly transmitted to him at that time.
In this case, it is necessary to first confirm that mosquitoes in the area had already bitten people and infected them with chikungunya since August or earlier, and that a large number of mosquitoes were still alive in the population.
After such a long period, there must have been a relatively active breeding ground, but much work has been done to eradicate mosquitoes before the outbreak, making the chance of a direct link between the two relatively small.
I believe it will be very difficult to directly identify who transmitted the virus to him through epidemiological investigation. Therefore, the next step requires even more caution and intensive effort. The key is to find if his current environment, especially his residence or frequently visited areas, has other local cases."
